Super Hero Review from Seattle- Medley

August 9, 2008

I wanted to put in an everyday guy’s review of the 2008 superhero.

I am one of those unlucky boaters who is hard to fit: 6’2”, athletic 240 lbs (former 270 lb offensive lineman who has taken to the water after organized sports), size 15 foot and thick legs/backside. My previous boats have been the Dagger RPM Max (most big man’s 1st boat) and the Pyranha Stretch XL – they hurt! Twisted and torqued foot positions and uncomfortable leg angles. Not to mention the catchy lines (specifically the sterns) that fail to foster confidence on the water…

I have about 10 days so far in my new superhero; paddling out of Seattle so running various forks of the Skykomish and the Snoqualmie – mostly class 2/3 stuff with a smattering of class 4… It is fabulous! Room for my feet!!! Adjustable on the river and great leg angles. As to the performance à I find myself able to ‘play’ the river and rapids far more confidently in this boat. The unique combination of the size of the boat (stable, long’ish, high volume) with the great lines / hull make is easy to get in and out of eddies, ferry, surf waves and safely navigate drops and holes with far more peace of mind and ease than previously. And while I agree with your statements in your rolling/bracing video that if you can roll a boat you can roll basically any boat, this boat is EASY to roll. This brings peace of mind when I find myself upside down and saturated in a tricky spot while going for a 2nd or 3rd roll (I seem to get ‘windowshaded’ in holes – a separate problem…). I used to find myself swimming about once a trip on class 4 stuff and have yet to do so in this boat – due to its stability, volume, and ease of rolling.

In summary: this boat fits a larger guy with big feet and a big backside/ lower half. Its performance inspires confidence in places that used to be dicey. It is allowing me to enjoy my time on the river far more than in other boats and make rapid technical progress. Thanks for the great work and excellent boat!

By the way, I have recently taught 2 friends to roll QUICKLY using your exact script from the rolling video. They were both amazed (one who use to have a roll and lost it and mentally believed he would never get it back and another who had never been in a boat before)!

medley